The Valentina
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Outer Space Competition - Blank Space Project
Honourable Mention
A warm glow came from the lights dotted along the man-made canyon, contrasting against the harsh lunar landscape. Laughter poured out from the hotel bar, and a couple giggled and stumbled down the path, making their way back to their pod. Smells of fried food drifted up from vendors, while a couple of kids argued in a nearby courtyard. Lunar settlements were usually completely underground, but here, a natural fissure had been exploited to create a sunken walkway. This particular layout felt far more informal - and homely - than similar-sized settlements. The extra public space allowed more freedom than the compartmentalised spaces early dwellers had been provided. She regretted only being there for a few days, but her job was done, and she would soon depart towards the edge of the system. Only a handful of people had been, all of which she was extremely jealous of. Traffic from personal and commissioned vehicles had been steadily increasing for the last seventy-five years. Endless craft in countless colours and materials had been designed, modelled, and extruded, making their way out of factories and garages and into space. It was the age of the personalised spacecraft.
Travellers tended to take short trips, usually to and from the moon. After the scientists, the corporations arrived, and the first lunar hotel was built, designed to house tourists and explorers. This escalated into a haven of entertainment, at first for the rich, and eventually the middle class. Housing started to be built for permanent residents and workers. The more daring explorers went out to Mars. The atmosphere there is different, it’s tough. The entertainment industry isn’t yet sustainable. Researchers, their families, and their occasional guests are the only residents. They make the most of a limited payload, mostly taking small tactile things that remind them of home. VR fills in the gaps and connects them with the earth visually, but nothing compares to something you can touch.
Despite its low population, large automated infrastructure projects are being carried out all the time; the subsurface of Mars is being hollowed out for future inhabitants. One such project, recently finished, is the Seed Cathedral, a grand cavern where the station grows most of its fresh food. Once inside, it’s hard to tell you’re deep in a dark lava tube, on a dusty, red planet far from home. Walkways wrap around the garden, connecting people to greenery at every opportunity. After months outside of earth, she could practically smell the scent of the leaves, feel the thin mist leave droplets in her hair, and see the filtered light through the heady atmosphere. She almost expected to hear a bird call or insect croak, but instead, a sharp sound of static from the radio snapped her back.
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She awoke to a harsh bright light shining on her face, forcing her eyes open. It had been four years since she left from Lunar. Her breath rose in icy swirls. The sunlight, though distant, penetrated the ship and gave a silver outline to her possessions. It must be nearly time. She unstrapped herself from her bed, grabbed a pouch from the wall and headed to the living room. Surrounded by her treasures, she logged on to the ship. Her dad’s broken compass hung from her dashboard. Over a billion miles clocked. Nothing flashing, no red alerts, just a couple of messages from home. Everything seemed fine. Reclining, she looked up at her supplementary vegetable garden. Potatoes and beans sprouted from onboard printed planters. She was surprised that she had survived this long with her questionable gardening skills. Back on earth, she couldn’t make a single thing live longer than a few weeks by her dingy South London window. It was a testament to how well designed The Valentina was. The best part of the ship was the way it framed the myriad of complex and striking views, especially when the lights were dimmed. She lost many hours looking out into the stars. They relaxed her in a way nothing on earth could.
The things she’d seen on her journey weren’t exactly what she’d expected when she decided to explore the depths of the starry ocean. So many others had set up distant orbiting bodies. The lack of gravity and finite materials gave rise to unfamiliar and spectacular forms. She thought only a small group of people had passed Saturn, but it was clear from the myriad of cosmological artefacts that whole communities had secretly been building in different corners of the system. Whether these were for science, art, or religion, was impossible to tell. As she wondered, something disrupted the tranquillity. A gargantuan mass encroached from the darkness. It was Enceladus; its closeness surprised her. Potted with scars, the surface reminded her of bleached coral, sombre and beautiful. Distinctive black shadows caught her eye. It was a collection of man-made markers from a research mission. Years ago, manned investigations confirmed the high chance of life on the satellite. As soon as the technology for such a long journey was available, the mission took off. But contact with the group was lost. So, she thought, why not pay them a visit?
